Blazblue: Just an Afternoon
by Winter's ice
Summary: It was just a typical gloomy afternoon at the military academy. The only difference is that Tsubaki managed to make some plans with Jin to have a friendly non-date outing. Of course things aren't exactly going according to plan when she finds him sound asleep. When they finally do manage to get going, things of course don't go according to plan thanks to a thing called weather.
1. Nocturne in the Afternoon

**Well, it seems that I'm a roll lately; which is rather surprising because I usually don't write this much in such a short time. Hmm, maybe because it's almost my four year anniversary on here. Anyhow, it is yet again set in the academy time frame, since any other time, unless AU, would be kind of depressing, angsty, and wonderfully violent! Anyhow, I hope you enjoy! Oh yes, the title comes from a song out of the _Angel Beats_ soundtrack, which kind of inspired me to write this.**

* * *

**Date Published: 12/1/13**  
**Word Count: 5,140**  
**Page Count: 9**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Nocturne in the Afternoon**

Every once in a while someone lets their guard down in the most unexpected place. Most of the time though, this never happens outside of certain safe places, such as their own room or safe haven. This though, happened to be one of those rare occasions.

The sky outside the Novus Orbis Librarium's military academy was very gloomy that day. The bright sun was nowhere to be seen, hiding behind all of those invading gray clouds. It was kind of like a cowardice army, running away at the first sight of some sort of trouble despite having nowhere to run to.

Inside the building that could possible challenge Versailles in size (it wasn't even a single percent as extravagant though) was probably just as gray. There where no young students frolicking around talking with their companions, or any teachers strolling the halls to keep them in line. This though wasn't due to the water cycle, but because classes for the day have been concluded earlier than usual and most of the students returned to their dorms, where at some sort club activity, or busy shopping in the business district.

The halls that where usually so noisy was now as silent as a corpse, which made it a bit unsettling. After all, what's more horrifying then walking down a hall that seemed to stretch for miles with no people in sight? The only thing that could make worse was if the lights started to flicker and strange noises began to come out of nowhere. The silence that created this eeriness began to fade though when the sound of steps began to reverberate throughout the hallway.

The lone person who was walking was a young red-haired woman who wore rather strange hairpieces. Like the rest of the students, she wore the usual white and blue uniform. The only real difference was her gray skirt, which was much longer compared to the usual overly short ones. That of course was due to her finding short skirts undignified, for one shouldn't wear something that showed that much skin. The other problem that was thanks to the length was how easy it would be for one to get a look at her underwear. Such a thing may not affect some people, but she wouldn't let something like that to happen to her. She had far too much pride for something like that to happen.

The young woman was heading off to the student council office in search of the ever-popular yet anti-social president. The female known as Tsubaki had recently made plans to spend some free time with her childhood friend, Jin. A happy smile crossed her face at the thought of the cold blond, _"It'll be nice to talk with him. He's been so busy recently, we haven't had any time together."_

Recently, the young frigid man was swamped with much work due to his fellow student council members getting sick. How exactly they all managed to get sick seemed to be a mystery, but some came to believe it was due to one of the members being sick and spreading it to the others. Jin, being rather withdrawn from the rest of them more than likely didn't come in direct contact with the original carrier and managed to escape its grasp. Unfortunately for him, he ended up with a mountain load of paper, which possibly could rival one of the hierarchical cities. Tsubaki had of course offered to help him with all the extra work, but he told her he could get it done alone. After a few days of non-stop work, and lack on the required hours of sleep, he finally managed to get through most of the mountain of paper work that was taunting him like the Cheshire Cat.

In no time flat, she reached the door to the student council. For a moment she thought to knock against the white door with the words Student Council printed across, but opened it anyway. The room, despite being dedicated to the most powerful students in the whole school wasn't much different from a typical classroom. It had the same type of tables, chairs, windows, coloring, blackboard, and teacher desk. Despite its bland design, it was still a large, bright room filled with many windows. It's rather sad actually, that such a pristine school couldn't even dedicate a different design for the student council. It was even sadder when one remembered that the vast majority of students came from high-ranking and extremely wealthy families.

Her crystal blue eyes began to scan the bland room, searching for the one thing that would stand out, the bright yellow hair that belonged to Jin. She spotted him quickly; he was sitting at the front table, at he edge of it. To her surprise, he was slouched over, his arms folded out on the table with his head resting on top of them. All around him was piles and piles of vicious paper, two of them where to his left while the rest where spread out before him. On the teacher desk there was even more paper scattered about. It seems that when the sick members return from their leave, they will have to deal with one very aggravated Jin.

Tsubaki was taken back a bit, for it was an extremely unexpected sight. Jin was the type to almost never let down his guard, but here he was, asleep like a little child laying against its mother in broad daylight. This was such an out of character thing for him, and she couldn't help but giggle as she brought a hand to her face. She then proceeded to move towards him, enjoying the tranquil scene before her. It wasn't often that Jin looked so peaceful due to his almost permanent icy gaze. Sure, he was polite to people, but that kindness he showed could never dissolve the look in his eyes and erase his scowl. The kindness he showed was usually two-dimensional, the type of kindness you preserve for people you dislike but don't despise.

When she reached him, she couldn't help but stare at him, taking in every little aspect of his features. His face was nuzzled against his folded arms while his chin floated above the table. The usual chilled look was nowhere to be seen, dissolved away due to sleep. Perhaps his dreams where engulfing him in some sort of warm light that melted away his frozen features. A sense of nostalgia engulfed her whole being, remembering the happy childhood she spent with him. No matter how much time passed, he always looked the happiest when he was asleep, when he could dream about a time that he was the happiest. She wasn't quite sure when that was, but whenever it was, it had to be a very special time for him.

Before long she moved her hand to his head, petting the soft strands of blond hair. She ran them through her hands, feeling the texture and how surprisingly smooth it was. Just the touch of his hair against her skin made her feel just so serene, _"It be nice if I could do this more often,"_ she thought as a small smile crossed over her features. It would be nice if things could return to the way it was before, her being able to spend all her time next to him. She soon stopped playing with his hair as her hand started to slide down gently towards his face. To her surprise his face had retained the softness it had when they where children. She ran her thumb across his cheek, while enjoying every aspect of it.

At the moment a little idea crossed into her mind, which resulted in another small giggle to emerge from her mouth. She motioned both of her hands now to his glasses, pulling them away from his face gently. In the midst of her glasses snatching, Jin's eyes shot open, a sleepy gaze meeting her surprised look. In a matter of moments he motioned his left hand to grab one of her wrists.

It took a moment for his brain to register just who was stealing his glasses, "Tsubaki, why are you taking my glasses?" he asked with a soft look invading his usual cold emerald eyes. Now he certainly didn't expect this, nor did he understand why she nabbed them. There wasn't anything special about them; they are just a normal pair of glasses that didn't have any sort of special powers.

"Well, I just wanted to watch you sleep without your glasses," she explained while a small tint of red crossed over her face. She didn't expect him to wake up, and it didn't help she acted on impulse.

"I see," he began while raising his body upwards and letting go of her wrist, "And here I thought you wanted to talk, not watching my slumbering face," he replied with a tiny drop of sarcasm. He moved his hand to the bridge of his nose and began to rub the skin. It seemed that sleeping with glasses on didn't just cause the frames to bend, but to place far too much pressure on the nose.

"I do want to speak with you, but I also didn't want to wake you up. You've been working so hard lately so I thought I should let you sleep," she spoke while pulling his glasses towards her chest. It was a hard decision to come to, let him sleep or talk with him. Either way she looked at it though, she would be able to be with him, and his health was far more important than whatever random thing they would end up talking about. Just being by his side, be he asleep or awake, was enough for her.

"You shouldn't worry that much, if you want to talk we should just talk. We don't have that much time together, so you shouldn't waste it watching me sleep," he spoke in a rather scolding tone. He couldn't help but let out a tinge of annoyance, they rarely have any time to talk or see each other. Either he's too busy with council work, or she's busy studying, scolding, or playing around with her friends. This happened to be one of the few days that they not only got done early (something to do with teacher training) but he managed to have some free time after he finished up all that paper work. It was the perfect opportunity to spend some time together, unless her friends end up stalking them in hope of _something_ happening.

"I know that but," with that she turned away from him, her head dropping a bit to the right, "I couldn't help myself. When you're asleep, you seem just so happy and peaceful. It just makes me feel happy, and it lets me think back to when we where little." It was just a fraction of her feelings, but she couldn't just go out and tell him everything. If she did, she would just end up embarrassed and saying never mind while running off somewhere hoping he'd forget everything.

"Besides," she started up while returning her head to face his, "You haven't been sleeping much recently because all of this work. I don't want you getting sick because you spent all of your time with me," she explained with a serious tone. Him getting sick was something she definitely didn't want happening. She would just end up blaming herself, thinking that because she took up too much of his time that he could have dedicated to sleeping. His health was much more important than anything else.

A sigh escaped from his mouth, some things never change now do they? She's always been the type to worry over one's health, be it over something simple or stupid. The ironic thing was that she never seemed to take any of his concerns to heart when it involved her unhealthy love of chocolate and how she ate far too much of it. He would always tell her to cut back on it, but no, she would never listen to him.

From that his brain traveled backwards in time when they where much younger. He started to vividly remember waking up after practicing his swordsmanship and finding her just staring at him. At first he was a little taken back, but eventually got used to her odd actions. After awhile of this strange trend, he remembered his adoptive father saying, "She's always looking at you with such a loving gaze. You're luck that you have someone who really cares about you so much Jin."

Even now she bears such a gaze towards him, perhaps an even stronger one, "Anyway, if you ever waste an opportunity to talk with me just because you like watching me sleep, don't complain about it later," he spoke in a cold tone. He was annoyed by this, why would she rather watch him sleep then to talk with him? He spent most of his time stuck with a bunch of annoying people he wished he could get away from, and when he finally had the chance to spend his time with a person he didn't dislike she decided watching him was a better option. He could never understand how people's minds worked, and he couldn't help but feel aggravated.

"I didn't mean to upset you, I'm just worried about you," she responded while looking downwards a bit. It was odd for him to act; he never behaved in such a cold manner towards her before. But here he was, annoyed by her actions over concern towards his well-being. A small part of her though was happy, happy to know how much precious their small time together was to him.

"I'm sorry, it's just," he paused for a moment, surprised by his own apology. He rarely ever did such a thing among many others, "I much rather talk with you then sleep. I can make up my sleep anytime, but I can't do that with you." Now here was another thing that has surprised him. He never spoke things like this, but here he was, spewing sappy things out of his mouth that on one would ever believe. After that he turned his head away from her while thinking, _"Damn it. Why the hell did I just do that? I need to stop acting like this around her." _He hated when he acted like this, especially when he listen to that annoying little voice in his head telling him to act on emotions he rather not acknowledge.

It was at this moment the room was completely silent. It seemed that neither one wanted to say anything about what just happened, out of possible fear of what type of conversation would follow. After a little while Jin returned his gaze towards her and decided to break the silence, "Well theirs no point talking about this subject because we'll just keep disagreeing." This seemed to be how their disagreements always went; they would bicker and never come to common ground till they both gave up.

"Yes, that does seem like a possibility. We would just go back and forth like a married couple," she responded. It wasn't till after she spoke did she notice she compared themselves to a married couple. It was at that moment her face heated up a good bit, and that resulted in her moving her head away from him as quickly as possible, "N-never mind that. I wasn't thinking."

Jin cracked a smile at her discomfort, it was a thing he would only do for her. If it were some other person, he would just think they where being an idiot. When he noticed the blush growing stronger across her turned away face he did something that was rather out of character, he laughed. He proceeded to go and say something unexpected, "A married couple huh? You know, I wouldn't mind being married to you. Any other woman would probably annoy me to no end."

Knowing his luck, he'd probably end up with some stuck up, full of herself noble who only cared about a fake image. It was how most of the female students acted, they only cared about preserving some stupid image while not really caring about anything else. It was truly sad to see so many people act like that. It was either that, or he would somehow end up with someone like Noel, useless, bothersome, and annoying. With Tsubaki though, he could actually have some sort of happiness, she was basically the only person he was genuine to.

She returned her head to looking at him, shock taking over her features. Her face started to gain more heat from his unexpected comment, and her eyes gained a sparkled to them. She was quite for a moment, wondering how she should respond to him, "Well, I wouldn't mind being your wife." She was happy that neither Noel nor Makoto where around. They would probably start teasing her about it. Of course any other time she would never say such a thing, or outright disagree with what she just said. When it was just the two of them though, she didn't have a problem admitting her feelings to a certain extent.

"That's good to know," he responded with a slight smile, at this moment he really didn't know what was going through his head but didn't seem to care. At least this lets him know that if he is required to marry someone of his own choice (which he wouldn't want to do anyway) he knows who he would pick. After all, what's the point of being married to someone he didn't love? Ignore that word, he doesn't love her at all, he just cares for her. Well, that's what he tells himself anyway.

She didn't say anything to him, but the happy look plastered all over her face did all of the speaking for her. Her whole entire being felt joy pulsating throughout her due to his unexpected words. This was one of those rare moments where she wasn't denying any of her feelings towards him, but actually embracing them. It may be he closest thing to a confession of his true feelings for her, and all she could was smile brightly.

"Tsubaki, can I have my glasses back now?" asked Jin while getting up from his seat and bringing her back to the reality before her. He began to stretch his now sore back while trying to get the kinks out of it. During this, he happened to notice that the door to the room was open just a tiny bit.

"O-oh yes, here you go Jin," she responded while handing his glasses towards him. After he placed them back on his face, he looked back over to the opened door. This time though he noted two pair of eyes watching them, _"How am I not surprised?"_ he thought while automatically knowing exactly who those eyes belonged to. Those two where always butting into his business in hope that something romantic would happen between him and Tsubaki. It seemed like they had nothing better to do then watch them.

With that revelation he began to walk away from the desk and towards Tsubaki. His brain that seemed to be on the fritz today and it had an evil little thought dancing around and he began to think, _"This should give him a surprise. They are always expecting something, so perhaps this would get them to leave us alone."_ He stopped right in front of her, and his eyes darted quickly over to the unwanted guests, _"Why do I always end up doing wired things because of these people?"_ He would normally never act in such a way, but when these people where surrounding him he felt compelled to act differently, as if their personalities where affecting his.

After that thought, he continued onwards with his out of character plan. He moved his hand towards her face and placed it onto her cheek, but on completely so his hand was blocking the view her lips.

"Jin! What are you doing?!" she yelled at him, while not having any possible idea why he was being so forward all of a sudden. He would never get this close to her, but here he was being mere inches away. She couldn't control the level of heat rising on her face or her quickening heat rate.

He didn't say anything to her, but his eyes seemed to be sending some sort of secrete message. They weren't filled with ice, annoyance, or anything else he was known for by others. Deep inside his light green eyes there was just some sort of calmness. In a matter of seconds that seemed like hours he ducked his face towards her. Tsubaki nearly jumped away from him due to how close his face was to hers, and how his lips where just oh so close to hers, "J-Jin?" she asked in a shaky voice. She had absolutely no clue what he was doing, and was shocked by these strange actions. Another part of her though was hoping that he would just kiss her already instead of just hovering over her while getting her hopes up.

"Just play along," he whispered lowly. Something about the surprise and hope in her eyes made him wonder just what was going through her head. He couldn't really tell if she actually wanted him to kiss her or if she was just completely caught off guard. In a few seconds time they both heard a squeal of joy emitting from the doorway. At that moment he let go of her face, and they both turned their heads in unison to look at the door. His face was completely unfazed, but hers was a scarlet red.

"Noel! I told you to be quite!" complained a voice in an annoyed tone from the hallway.

"I-I'm so sorry Makoto! It was so cute and unexpected that I couldn't hold it in!" responded the other voice in a bit of a panicky tone.

"What are you two doing here?!" yelled Tsubaki as she began to walk towards the door, and if it was possibly little puffs of smoke would be coming out of her head. How come whenever she's doing something with Jin, these two are always spying on them? She told them to leave them alone for the day, but here they are to mess around with her and spy on their every move like some sort of obsessed fans.

"Crap! Run for it Noel!" yelled Makoto as she saw her angry friend walking towards them. After that comment she began to run away from the door in the hall as fast her legs could carry her. Noel quickly followed after her, though she did trip up a bit and almost fell on her face during her escape.

"Jeez you two! I'll make you two clean the whole room when I get back!" she yelled with a red face from both anger and embarrassment. She turned back and walked over to Jin with an annoyed face, "Why did you do that? They are just going to tease me later." Despite her annoyed tone, she couldn't help but hide the fact she was disappointed.

"If I didn't do so, they would have followed us the whole entire day," he explained while enjoying the look on her face. It might be the only thing he would classify as cute.

A sigh emitted from her mouth, "That's true, they would have done that. You didn't have to do that though, you could have just yelled at them." She really wished he would have just yelled at them rather than getting her hopes up that he actually really cared for her, _"I need to stop thinking about that,"_ she thought while trying to shove the event out of her mind.

"I could have done that but I believe this plan worked out better," he began while walking towards the front of the desk. He began to pick up and organize the papers on the table. The two of them where rather obsessed with their relationship, and they would have kept it up if he just scolded them. No matter how many times he tried getting it through their heads, it just wouldn't stick. Besides, in their minds they where able to see something intimate, something they weren't expecting, "They would have been persistent. By having them see something like that, they won't want to follow us around anywhere."

She was silent for a moment before she started to talk, "I guess you're right, but still. Knowing them they are going to hound me for who knows how long." She knows how her roommates are; they would just go on and on about how cute they are. That, and no matter how many times she would try to tell them nothing happened, they wouldn't listen.

"Well, you could always say it's your divine right to keep them in line. If they continue to bother you, just throw them out or take their things," he explained while stacking all of the completed papers. There were a few papers that needed finishing, but it could be finished later on. He walked over to the front desk, and placed down the paper.

"Jin, I'm not apart of a monarchy so I can't kick them out. I guess I could say it was just a misunderstanding," she mumbled lowly as she watched his actions. She knew that no matter what she did, those two where going to bother her about it. In the end all she could say nothing happened and wait till some other thing distracts them. Knowing them, that wouldn't take very long.

"Who say's they'll believe you? They might think you're too embarrassed to admit it," he responded with a tiny little smirk. He did seem to enjoy messing with her. If it were anyone else, he would just end up being rude and uncouth about his actions. With her though, he could actually play around a little.

"I wouldn't be in this situation in the first place if you didn't go and pretend to…," she stopped herself at that. She could feel the blood rushing to her face again, "…to kiss me." It was at this moment a little part of herself reminded her yet again of how much she would have enjoyed it. That resulted in her telling herself to shut up.

"I'm sorry, but it did mange to get them going. I think dealing with some teasing is better than being stalked throughout the business district." The plans they made where rather simple, they would just walk around the sixth level, and glance at the different storefronts. It was akin to what one could believe to be a date. Of course they both deny that and just say it was a friendly outing. After all, it was one of the things they where best at.

"It's easy for you to say brother Jin," she retorted with a bit of annoyance seeping through her voice, "You're aren't the one being teased. You don't know how annoying it is to hear them insinuate things on a regular basis." The way they insinuate things where like an unfriendly reminder that she was almost always in a state of denial.

"That isn't true. Makoto has a tendency to say things to me," he responded while turning his head to look out the window. The weather seemed absolutely terrible, as if it would start raining any second. A part of him thought that walking around in that unsteady weather was a bad idea, but he wouldn't let a little cloudiness slow him down. It wasn't often he managed to have some free time at his disposal. As he continued to look out the window, a thought crossing his mind, _"I guess it's alright since we don't have much time to talk. Perhaps it won't start raining till a later point."_

"She does?" asked Tsubaki while moving her head to also look out the window, "That seems like her. I guess she enjoys to torment people." It seemed just like her to bother people over such things, but due to Jin's personality she couldn't help but wonder how that went.

"Now that she does," he responded with a sigh while walking towards her, "We can discuss her love of tormenting us as we walk. Shall we get going?" he asked in an almost gentlemanly way.

She gave him a sweet smile, "Yeah, let's. It's pointless to hang out around here and talk about her when we have plans." After all, they could just talk about their problems with a certain squirrel beastkin while walking around.

After that they headed out of the very boring room. For a moment Tsubaki was expecting to see her friends stalking around. Thankfully, they must have learned their lesson for the day and ran off to the safety of their room. Of course the thought of dealing with them later didn't sound all that fun.

"So then, what should we do? Get something to eat?" asked Jin. He had skipped eating lunch earlier so some food sounded good right around now.

"That sounds fine. Can we go to the place that sells those chocolate parfaits?" she asked with a glimmer in her eyes. Her voice was filled with glee, for the idea of having something chocolaty sounded heavenly to her.  
"Alright, but you really need to hold back on all that chocolate. Maybe you should get something different, it would be better for you," he responded with a serious, scolding tone. He couldn't quite understand her love of the treat, he thought it was alright but the extent she loved it made him worry about her health.

She gave him a sweet, innocent puppy dog look, "I can't help it. Chocolate just has some sort of power over me. You don't have to worry about me brother Jin, the chocolate won't hurt me too much," she explained in a happy manner.

With that he pressed the subject no further, that look destroyed whatever resolve he had to scold her into eating something different.

"Tsubaki, do you think we need an umbrella?" he asked as his eyes wandered over to the windows in the hall. It hasn't started raining, but you never know when it could. That's just how Mother Nature is, cruel and unpredictable.

"I don' think so. I heard it won't rain till this evening, so we should be fine," she explained simply. The rain won't come to bother them till well after they have gone their separate ways. So until that time comes, they can enjoy each other's company and chat the day away.

* * *

**Well, that's it, and I don't quite like the whole thing but oh well. Yet again I'm not so sure on how well I handled Jin's character, but oh well to that as well. This was originally going to be a one shot, but towards the end I got an idea on how I would expand upon the plot (wait, there's a plot?) so stay tune for the next chapter! Oh, and please make sure to review so I can read your opinions! Now off to read act one of **_**Hamlet**_**, boo.**


	2. Outing in the Afternoon

** Well, here is chapter two! It took me longer than expected due to tests, which resulted in me not wanting to do anything. So I'm sorry for taking awhile, but I hope the length and fluff makes up for it! Anyhow, I did a lot if improvising in this chapter with the whole business district since they never actually shown it anywhere. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**Date Published: 12/11/13  
Word Count: 9,165  
Page Count: 15**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Outing in the Afternoon**

Perhaps they should have brought an umbrella that afternoon. The skies that just a bit ago was cloudy with gloom hanging over people's heads had become a darker color. The sky was filled with many depressed clouds that looked like they where about to start crying any minute. In no time flat one single drop will fall, and then another, and before you know it'll be a downpour displaying the clouds emotions running all over the place like an uncontrollable river.

_"I should have grabbed one,"_ thought a certain cold blond fellow in an annoyed tone. Instead of being in his dorm room, or classroom, or even the student council room, he was inside a café. The café wasn't anything too special; it had a bunch of brown walls and tables filling up the space. There were little trinkets all around the place to help the ambiance of the room. On the window ceils where an array of different small plants, glass vases, and other artistic pieces that could be easily broken. The coffee brown walls were covered in colorful paintings, displaying a variety of things from landscapes to cottages and other homey feeling things. There were also larger plants scattered about the place, such as the front entrance and near the bathrooms. Light brown wood flooring covered the place, while the tables and chairs shared a similar color. The only things that really wasn't brown was the white tablecloths and the tan drapes hanging over the many windows. This large establishment that seemed to love to use brown was filled with people wearing the exact same blue, white, and gray uniform.

The number of people wasn't surprising though due to this place having a large reputation among the many students that filled up this hierarchical city. This city called Torifune, also known as the academy city, was filled to the brim with students from elementary to university level. As such, it would make sense that a lot of them took fancy to some of the restaurants or other stores. The students where rather fond of the unique snacks that they sold, most preferably the deserts that the girls loved to gobble up in a heartbeat. Though that didn't mean guys wouldn't come in, it was a perfect place to eat and chat with ones companions when they weren't being swamped with work.

All of these places where located in the business district of the city on the sixth level. During the day, most of these places are dead thanks to classes and other sort of school related activates. As soon as they let out though, bored students make there way here to have some fun and spend a lot money. Some people have even said that there is a booming economy thanks to all of the kids from rich families and how they loved to waste all of their parent's money on the expensive food, trinkets, and other random crap that was sold here. This area wasn't only good for making money, but for students to get around and have some fun. Surprisingly, the district also had a large park perfect for getting away from the classroom and having some down time. It also happened to be very good for playing outdoor games and having picnics.

Anyhow, Jin was sitting at a table near a window, which gave him the perfect view of the outside world. He had his palm pressed against his chin while his elbow rested on the table as his eyes went from watching the sky to the people inside the café. Jin was currently in his own little world that would probably be filled with icicles as he went over the reasons of why he should have brought the stupid thing. To make his already bad mood worse, it also seemed that most of the people where shifting their eyes over to them.

People seemed to be saying things to each other while trying to be secretive but all the while failing miserably. Some of the students, mainly the females of course, where giggling up a storm with a red tint to their faces every time they turned to look at him. It was beyond pathetic how they obsessed over him like he was some sort of stuffed toy. Those women, they seemed just so arrogant, believing he was a great person despite the fact they don't know a damn thing about him. A truly wonderful guy was something he wasn't, and their mere obsession of him was based off of his appearance, general persona, and grades alone. He hated people like that, but what was worse was the hateful gleam coming from some of the females. Those happy eyes filled with stupid emotions would soon transform into a deep hatred when their eyes laid upon Tsubaki. They would whisper crud things created from their stupid feelings that were made of false ideals. They created an image of him, latched onto him, all the while hating the only person who actually knew him.

He glanced over to one those groups of girls, giving them a glare of detest. They where all just so pathetic, hating a person they didn't even know over a person they wouldn't ever speak to. The males, though low in numbers, where much more reserved in their behavior. They might have been surprised for a moment, but soon went back to their own business. One of the boys he recognized was often hanging around one of the student council members, but he couldn't recall his name. The young male just gave him a smile as if to say, "Good luck man!" all the while having the wrong impression of the situation.

_"These people, why can't they just mind their own business? Why must they look surprised when my actions are none of their concern? And those women," _his brain stopped for a moment, his face looking colder than usual. His emerald eyes lost the little warmth it had and was engulfed by his displeased mood, _"It's bad enough they fuss over me while not even knowing me, but how dare they hate her. How dare they give her such hatful glares just because she actually knows who I am rather than some damn image they created in their stupid minds."_ All of those thoughts were filled with burning hate, those people who knew nothing and created false images where-

"Brother Jin? What's the matter, you seemed annoyed," spoke his companion. His wandering eyes still reflecting his mood returned to the person in front of him almost instantly. She was eating the creamy chocolate goodness know a chocolate parfait, which was covered in strawberries. She had a happy gleam too her, her eyes where basically shimmering with joy from the treat. She had always had an extreme love of chocolate, and it could always brighten her mood. Chocolate was like a cure, give it to her and she'll be in a better mood in no time flat. Well, that was the case most of the time anyway.

"It's nothing," he said while his eyes wandered down to the cup of tea before him. Unlike her, he didn't quite care for sweets, but he could stomach a piece of cake or two here and there. He didn't feel like explaining the hostility he sensed in the mood from those girls. He didn't want her to end up getting annoyed by those fools and ruining her chipper mood. That was something else he hates, seeing her in a bad mood, or whatever she perceives as happiness destroyed.

"It isn't nothing. I can tell when you're annoyed by something," she responded to him with a serious and a tidbit of a scolding tone. She'd known him long enough to know when something's getting under his skin, and right now it was extremely obvious. The look on his face was similar to the one he gives Noel, the only difference being it was ten times worse. That enough was a tall tale sign that something was bothering him.

"I'm not annoyed," he responded while trying to rid the vile tone from his voice. He doesn't feel like getting into an argument with her about these people. Much less would he want people to over hear anything if they did start to bicker. Dealing with people who think they know everything seemed to be a pain. After all, they would automatically think that he was in the wrong despite the problems being created by people who don't know anything.

She looked at him, a serious gaze taking over her eyes. After taking one last bite with the spoon, she placed it back into the treat. He could just sense that she was going to scold him, "Jin, you can tell me. You where fine minutes ago, so what is it? You don't have to hide it."

He was silent for a moment, while wanting not to say a word. That glint in her eyes though told him she wouldn't let him stay silent. She would just be persistent about the matter and wouldn't let it drop till he talked about it, or ended up dead. A sigh escaped his lips before he spoke, "Those people are overly irritating. First they start saying things like they know me, and then they start looking at you like you're some sort of demon." His voice returned to that cold, annoyed tone he was known for. There wasn't a point to mask his hate when she wanted to know about it and wouldn't get off his back about it.

"What are you talking about?" she asked while looking towards one of the tables to her right. She managed to catch the gaze of a female, which resulted in her seeing a very cold gaze. Tsubaki looked back over to Jin, sounding a bit startled, "Alright, I see what you mean. I don't get it why they seem so hostile. I mean, we are just having lunch together."

"They seem hostile _because_ we're having lunch. They are seething with jealousy since I'm here with you and not them. It's sad actually since I'm positive that I would never have lunch with anyone except you," he explained in that same voice. He really hated those fools. It was pathetic how much they wanted to spend time with him even though they barely communicated with him. A few of them did though, but they where either to shy or demanding to be worth his time. It was sad how much they hated Tsubaki just because he was close to her and not them. Of course it didn't help that the girls probably thought they where on a date, which everyone seems to believe. How come it was so hard for people to believe that two friends of the opposite genders can't just stay as friends?

"I see," she said lowly while looking downwards to her food. She couldn't help but smile with a small blush, knowing that she was the only one who he would have lunch with. It was like she won a prize that no one except for her could ever acquire. It made her feel just so happy that she could go brag about it if she wasn't always trying to act modest. At the same time she felt a little sad, knowing that Jin didn't understand just how much power his words had over her at that moment. To him it just seemed like the most logical thing; to her it felt made special above all other things. She then raised her head back and spoke, "Don't let them bother you."

"Easier said then done. I can't help but feel ticked off knowing that they seem to hate you because of how close we are," he explained while looking around at the people. Most of them where busy doing their own thing, but quite a few of them kept on looking back towards them. Those annoying things still retained that smug, irradiated, jealous look. If he weren't trying to keep the peace, he wouldn't have a problem yelling at them to mind their own business. That though seemed like something his brother would do.

"It's alright Jin," she began while reaching her hand out towards him. She placed it on top of his right hand before she began again, "However they feel, they aren't bothering me. Just because they don't like me doesn't mean you have to get worked up over it. Thank you for caring so much, but you don't have to get mad," she explained to him in a gentle tone. She gave him a sweet smile; it was really nice to know just how much he cared. He might not be the warmest person in the whole world, but he still showed he cared in his own way. Most of the time he would act plain out cold, but at times likes these he couldn't hide his emotional and caring side. It only showed up though when she was involved, so it was like another little trophy she could display that on one else could ever have.

Instead of looking around at the people again, he looked directly at her while trying to calm down. He wanted to carry on, to continue explaining how he couldn't ignore it, but he knew there was no winning this battle. He took in some air, hoping that it would decrease his displeased meter, all the while silently enjoying the warmth of her hand. That though was something he wouldn't mention to her, for he would try to forget just how much he enjoyed it. After a few moments he spoke up, "Alright, but if they ever start bothering you over me, tell me as soon as possible. I'll make sure to take care of it as soon as possibly. It's my duty to protect you from those rude people." He wasn't sure why he threw in the last sentence, but he just felt like he had to protect her. He did as a child so that thought must have carried onwards to this point.

"Thank you brother Jin," she spoke in a very chipper voice while giving him a smile, "It's nice to know I can count on you." Even though she could easily take care of them, she liked the idea of Jin coming to her rescue. It was like he was her own personal hero, coming to her aid whenever she was in some sort of conflict. It would be like some sort of strange fairy tale where in the end they would end up as a couple. Just the thought of that caused her face to turn red a bit, _"No, that won't ever happen. I mean, he's like a brother to me. Though, why do I always get so embarrassed at just the thought of it?" _That was how it was, her heartbeat would quicken at just the theories people made up about them. Whenever she thought about it, her heart would go as fast as a train if humanly possible. It was like a piece of her was longing for that day even though her mind didn't exactly understand or was willing to get what her heart was saying.

"That's one of the things I'm here for after all," he responded with a slight smile. Helping her out when she managed to get herself in trouble is what he does best besides scowling of course. It just seemed like it was his duty. After that he noted the slight redness to her face and how her grip on his hand tightened, "Tsubaki? Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine! I-I was just thinking about something. It isn't anything to be worried about," she stammered a bit while she removed her hand from his. These little instances where her brain jumped ship to the romance section seemed to happening more and more lately. She couldn't quite wrap her head around it, or why she kept on going back to the idea of him almost kissing her. That of course caused to her head to shoot down, her hand picking up the spoon and returning to the chocolate parfait before her, _"I need to stop thinking such things! Just focus on the parfait and nothing else."_

Jin watched her odd action, pondering just what was with her all of a sudden. It seemed like she was acting more and more embarrassed around him for some reason. He wanted to ask what she was getting worked up about, but decided he could ask her about it when there weren't any prying eyes. So, Jin decided to change the mood by speaking while telling his eyes to not start wandering around the room, "You know, I'll never understand your love of those things."

"I can't help that these taste so good," she responded while glancing up to him from her treat. The red tint to her face that matched her hair happened to be faded by then. She was silently thanking him for changing the subject to something less unsettling, "You never tried one before, right?"

"Well yes, and you know I'm not much of a sweets person," he explained. It was ironic though he was currently at a restaurant that specialized in sweets but never really cared for them. The only reason he even agreed to come here was due to her asking, and her desire for the parfait. He couldn't go straight out and tell her no. His almost frozen heart couldn't stand by and let something like that happen.

A small little smirk crossed over her face, indicating an evil little idea had crossed over into her mind. She proceeded to scoop up some of the milky chocolate and pressed it towards him while saying happily, "Then why don't you try it? You won't know if you like it till you try it."

He just looked at the little scoop of the frozen product. It was like it was challenging him to try a bit. He wanted to say no, but he knew she would press it onwards till he caved in, or yet again ended up dead. After he sighed a bit, he reached out to grab the spoon. After staring at if for a few more seconds he plopped it into his mouth.

With that he concluded it was alright, but nothing special. It was just another dessert that really didn't interested him, but he did enjoy the little bit of chocolate. "It's alright, but nothing great that I would want to eat it on a regular basis. So that's it, I tried it," and with that he pointed the spoon back towards her.

"I guess you can't see the wonder that's a chocolate parfait, much like how you can't see the glory behind the Six Heroes," and now she was about to go on about her other favorite thing in the world that wasn't chocolate related. She had been obsessed with them since she was just a small child. It was just something about their heroic actions, their desire to save the world and their belief of justice that made her admire them so much.

"Well sorry if I really don't care about them," he began while moving his head towards the window. It was still dark, but luckily for him it hasn't started to rain. Maybe they'd get luck and the clouds decided to hold in their tears a little bit longer.

"How can't you? It's thanks to them we're alive right now," she responded with a pout crossing over her face. Just how anyone can't see how awesome they are really needs to get their heads examined. By now she thought he would be a little bit appreciate towards them with all of the years she forced him to pay attention to them.

"I'm thankful for them killing the Black Beast, but they are overly hyped up. I mean, how many movies do they need anyway? All of that merchandise and plushies are over kill. I doubt they even get any of the money from that crap," he mumbled. All of that crap companies make is beyond stupid. They put out more and more stuff, but it's still basically the same thing just in a newer design or package. It's even sadder when one thinks about all of the people who continue to buy it. It wouldn't be surprising that they don't even get a percentage of what the money makes off of them.

With his comment she began to frown a bit, and that sadden look was one of the things he hated seeing, "The movies are good though, and they deserve all of the fame they get. That, and the merchandise isn't crap, they're really well made."

"You only say that because you have a lot of them. Especially those plushies, I don't know why you have so many of them," he responded while thinking back to her Six Heroes collection. Movies, posters, figures, plushies, books, comics, she had so much stuff it wasn't even funny. He wouldn't be surprised her obsession with justice came out of her love of those guys.

"Jin, did you forget you bought me a good bit of those plushies I have?" she responded with a little smirk erasing the frown from moments ago. It was something he would deny around others, but he had a tendency of buying plushies for her. Be it for her birthday or not, every once in a while he would give her something saying, "I figured you would like this."

As soon as he heard that he turned his head away from her, and a very surprising thing happening. For the first time in God knows how long his face actually gained a small tint of red. It was almost like a miracle that such a thing happened to thee Mr. Cold and Usually Unemotional. It wasn't something he liked to be reminded of for most of the time he bought them on impulse. He just felt compelled to do so, but he never knew just why. He would just see the little things in the storefronts, and a little voice in his head told him to buy it for her.

The whole time he was looking away from her, Tsubaki couldn't help but giggle at his embarrassment. Even she would only rarely see him like this. Every time it does happened she couldn't help but think that that night would have a full moon. She had always though he was extremely cute when he got like this. It seemed like he always tried to get around this subject, for he would end up like this. She couldn't help but remember a time where her friends asked her about one her plushies of Hakumen, and explained it was a gift from Jin. This of course lead to disbelief and a curious Makoto decided to hound him about the little plush. In the end, even he was a tiny bit embarrassed.

He was quite for a little, wondering what he should say, "Can we drop this subject? You should hurry up and finish eating so we can get going before it starts to rain." Ah, the usual change the subject thing. He always felt uncomfortable when this was brought up. He always ended up feeling rather strange, and he didn't like it.

With a victory smile she replied with an, "Alright," before going back to finishing her food. She would remember that embarrassed and adorable face for as long as she lived. So they sat there in silence for a good while until she handed him a strawberry over to him, "Do you want one?"

Without a word he grabbed the strawberry and started to munch on it. It was extremely fresh with a strong taste. His eyes started to look around the room again, and took note that most of the people gave up on watching their exchange. Of course the girls right next to them didn't seem all that thrilled by their conversations and actions. The only people who looked at him oddly where the ones coming inside with umbrellas around their wrists and in their hands. It was if they where just there to mock him.

"Alright, I'm finished," where the words that snapped him back towards his companion. Instead of saying a word, he stood up from his seat while pulling out his wallet and grabbing the check. The money he had came in from his adoptive family that enjoyed dotting on him. By his "family" he means his adoptive father. The rest of his "relatives" basically hated his whole entire existence merely because he was chosen to become the next head of the family. They hated that an adopted boy was the one picked to succeed the family name rather than the actual children born with the name. Despite his problems, the man who took him into his home would often send him money that he really didn't need. He always ended up with more than needed, so he had no problem actually using it on something.

"I'll pay for my share of the bill," began Tsubaki while reaching for her own wallet. She really never liked the idea of people paying for her things, but she had a feeling she knew where this was going to go.

"It's alright, I'll pay for you," he responded as he turned his head to look at her. His eyes actually had some warmth in them, a type of endearing warmth. After that quick statement he began walking towards the register. He had far too much money, so why not actually use it for something? After all, one of the few things he enjoyed doing was doting on his soft spot, but just don't expect him to come out and actually say it.

So, he paid the somewhat expensive bill to the guy managing the register. The case it was sitting on was made out a fine walnut tree. Inside the case held an array of cakes, cookies, and pies up for customers on the go. The fellow behind the register was rather young, probably in his early twenties, with light brown hair and matching eyes. He gave Jin a bright smile, "You know mister," began the fellow, "You always look cold and mean, but you're actually really nice."

Jin raised an eyebrow at that. Yet again another person who didn't know him at all was judging him due to his appearance. At least he was just judging a little more accurately compared to others, "What do you mean by that?" he asked while trying to keep his voice in a somewhat friendly manner. There was no need to care this guy.

"Well, you come in here often with that lady friend of yours. You look mean and cold, but you always pay for her. It goes to show that appearances aren't something to go by for most people," explained the young man happily. He was often working the same time Jin came around, so of course it would be easy to recognize him. He had originally thought he was just some cold and unsociable guy, but someone like that wouldn't always spend their money on someone else.

"At times yes, but most of the time the way a person carries themselves usually reflects who they are," he responded simply while returning his wallet to his pocket. The way most of the people he deals with act the same way one would expect from their appearances. If a person carries themselves in a snobbish and selfish way, of course that's more than likely how they are going to behave around most people.

"I see we differ on that belief, but oh well. Thank you for the business, I hope you and your lady friend come back again," responded the cashier in a friendly voice, with a matching smile. He knew he didn't have to say it, but did so anyway.

After that Jin turned his back to the friendly stranger and walked towards the entrance of the dinning hall. He was expecting to see her walking up to him, but instead she seemed to be caught in a conversation with the girls from the table across from them. Right then and there he knew exactly what was going on, those jealous girls had the perfect opportunity to insult her. A very irradiated look took over his features as he marched back over to the tables. Oh, there is going to be blood.

"I don't get it. Why does he hang out with some boring chick like you? I mean, you have such a stick up your butt it isn't funny. I bet he just pities you because your only friends are the beastkin squirrel thing and that dumb blond who doesn't even belong here," spoke the female who had been eyeing them for the whole course of their lunch. She had long, dirty blond hair, brown eyes, and a very rude and condescending tone to her voice.

"Perhaps it has something to do with us knowing each other since we where children? Unlike you and all of the other jealous girls, I actually know what he's like. I know the things he likes and hates, and how under that cold persona he is a very caring and kind person," with those stern words she stood from her chair and walked right up to the foul mouth girl. Her usual kind blue eyes were filled with a fierce determination, "People like you only look at what you see. You see how good-looking, smart, and cold he is. You don't know a single thing about him, so why do you feel so privileged? Why do you feel like you're better than me? Why do you think you're more worthy of his time, a person who doesn't know a damn thing about him, then someone he's known for years?!" she basically yelled at the girl while gaining the attention of everyone in the room. Most of the time she tried to stay calm and collected, but she couldn't right now. Just like the event with Makoto, standing up for people was apart of her nature, and her desire for justice. That desire is even stronger when it involved the person she loves.

"What the hell do you know you stupid inbreed?! Your brain is probably so deformed to notice that he only stays with you because he pities you!" she was going to continue onwards with the insults but Jin decided to walk right up to her. He looked absolutely ticked off at what she was saying. His eyes were filled not with ice, but burning fire of irritation. This was exactly why he hated people, they all thought so highly of themselves while knowing nothing about the other people who is around them.

"I don't pity her. Out of all the people in this city, she's the one I trust the most, the one I care for the most. So why don't you shut your mouth you fool? If you want to be close to someone, trying acting like an actual person rather than some rat. The only person who needs pity is you," and with that rather calm insult he reached out and grabbed Tsubaki's hand. He grabbed it gently and tugged it a bit to get her to walk away. She had no problems following after him despite being rather angry with the uncouth lady. The girls where all surprised, but didn't say a word because getting into an argument with him didn't sound fun nor safe.

As they left he mentioned to the fellow at the register, "I'm sorry about the mess," and the fellow just smiled at him. It was like he knew it was something they had no control over and replied with a simple, "It's alright."

When they reached the outside of the building Jin turned to face her while still griping her hand tightly, "Now you know why I hate them. They are a bunch of pathetic insects that prey on others because they can't see that they are in the wrong," he explained in a cold tone. If this were anywhere else, he would have had no problem smacking that girl for her words. Of course he couldn't, and his mind went back to his brother for a mere moment because he would have no problem doing so.

"I can see why. Thanks for coming in to save the day Jin," she responded while losing the annoyance she had in her voice. It made perfect sense why he was so distant, so many people where just like that it was sad. She would have enjoyed scolding them some more, but it would probably lead to some sort of confliction.

"Didn't I say I would protect you from those people?" he asked as the coldness in his voice started to fade away, and being replaced by a sense of kindness. He said he would do so, and as such he would stick to his word.

"Yes you did. Thank you very much," she responded while squeezing his hand happily, "You make the perfect hero." With that she paused for a moment, a little idea showing up in her mind from nowhere and looked away, "Would it be alright if you held my hand for a little longer?"

He didn't say anything, but the slight smile basically meant a yes. He didn't mind doing so; after all he enjoyed the warmth of her hand against his. Just don't expect him to actually go out of his way to say that though. Now it was time to continue on with their outing all the while trying to forget about the uncouth person who brought up a sore subject. If this were elsewhere, Jin would have asked why she decided to yell at them rather than ignore them. Right now though didn't seem like the right place.

Across the road they were located on was an array of buildings. Some were large with many different things decorating the front. They all varied from different colors to different materials like wood, brick, or marble. Behind the glass were many different things from cute nick-nacks to random junk. The smaller ones were designed in the same fashion, with different things hiding behind the glass. Across the strip known as the business district there where many stores that sold similar things. This though was due to the academy's rules, and as such students could only buy books, different assortment of cute junk, pajamas (because their where no pj uniform) different necessary articles of clothing, flowers, plants, and a few other things. Though, most of the buildings are just an array of restaurants because students would get annoyed with eating cafeteria food three times a day. The restaurants also varied in size and price, the fancier it was, the more expensive it was. There where only so many cheap places due to the lower number of students who didn't come from extremely rich and powerful families.

The sky above these stores wasn't exactly as bright as the stores unfortunately. The dark clouds where still looming over the land built into a mountain, and seemed even more intimidating. It had recently started to thunder, meaning it was more likely to start raining any minute. Now there was the problem, it was bound to rain, but they wouldn't be able to reach the school in time. So they would either A. bust their tails and try to get back, B. find some place to sit around at, or C. find a store that sells umbrellas.

"The weather seems to be getting worse, I suggest we track down an umbrella as soon as possible," spoke Jin while looking upwards at the sky. So option C it is, but of course they needed to find some.

"You're right, but I'm not sure where we could buy any," she asked while looking around, pushing the event that just happened out of her mind while enjoying Jin's hand. There had to be somewhere that would sell them. In the midst of looking around the buildings, she happened to spot two people walking out of a store with new umbrellas in hand, "Perhaps they sell them there?"

"We can go look," and with that they began to walk towards the shop down the street just a bit. When they entered the store, it was a small little place with a variety of random stuff all over the place. It was akin to a store that specialized in selling crap to tourists, such as cheap snacks and gift items just without the magnets and post cards. The person running the store was an older man, with some thinning hair.

"Excuse me, but do you happen to have any umbrellas?" asked Jin in a surprising friendly manner. There was no reason to be rude to a person he didn't even know, especially when they may have an item you require desperately.

"Yes, and you two are in luck, I only have one left," he explained while pointing towards a rack in the corner, "As you can guess, the stores don't pay mind to such things. So whenever the weather turns, I always end up emptying my stock," he had a very happy look in his eyes thanks to the income.

Jin didn't say anything to the man, but pulled his hand away from Tsubaki and walked over to the little rack. The corner seemed a little dusty, but that shouldn't be surprising. No matter where one went there had to be one filthy cheap place. He grabbed the single black umbrella, and then returned to the register while paying no heed to anything else in the store. He then placed the item down, and pulled out his wallet for a second time that day. The man just smiled, told him the price, and gladly accepted the money. With the mission some what completed, Jin placed the strap of the umbrella around his left wrist and they exited the small place.

"So now what do we do?" asked Tsubaki while eyeing the umbrella and motioning her hand back into Jin's, "Should we go back to the academy or walk around for a while longer?"

Jin looked up to the sky, pondering what to do all the while accepting her hand yet again. It was like a game where someone had to pick one of the possible options, and depending on which one would trigger a different ending. If he went with the first option, it would be like he'd end up missing a CG or something important for triggering a certain ending. If he went with the second one, something interesting might happen.

"Let's walk around for a little while. We can leave when it starts to rain," he explained while beginning to move the street. He received no reply but the squeeze from her hand was enough of an answer for him.

For awhile, they where just looking around the different non-food related stuff in the windows. They looked at the fronts, seeing whatever random things they had placed in for display. Some of them displayed different types of books available like, "The History of the Six Heroes," or, "The Creation of the NOL," or something else along those lines that revolved around important people and organizations.

When the stores weren't focused on different histories or whatever new thing floating around, they had trinkets. The stores had different stuff animals, or other things that belonged on a dresser. Besides that, a lot of them had different types of plants that would be used to make a room livelier. Some of the stores where just florists, selling an array of flowers and tools needed to take care of them. One of them displayed the variety in watering cans, from things like a cheap waterpot, to a tin one, a lion, and even a rainbow one. When the stores weren't advertising things for yourself, it was along the lines of how they would make wonderful birthday gift or some sort of holiday present. When it wasn't either of them, they were advertising how it would be great for your significant other.

Other stores had a verity of different snacks. Some were geared towards candy, healthy food, foods from a verity of different countries or, "Jin, could we stop in here?" asked Tsubaki when they saw a store that specialized in different chocolates.

"Alright, just don't go over board with it," he responded with a scolding tone. Jin sighed for a moment before his ears picked up on some thunder in the distance as a warning sign. He stayed outside for a moment longer after she pulled away and entered the store happily, just looking up at his current enemy. After that short time, he carried himself inwards.

The inside had a very sweet aroma floating around the room. The room very chipper unlike the outside, the walls were painted a light purple while the flooring was yet again walnut. It was surprisingly large for a shop, with different types of chocolate lining the walls. Dark, white, milk, ones with different types of nuts, their was a vast selection to suite the needs of any chocolate lover. When it wasn't chocolate bars, it was things like strawberries and pretzels covered in chocolate. It was like heaven for a chocolate lover, so it made sense that Tsubaki seemed so chipper while looking around. It actually wouldn't be surprising if she started to dance around the place with glee.

"Oh, hello Tsubaki. How are you today?" asked the female store clerk. She was rather young, with long dark hair that could rival the chocolate and green eyes, "Noel and Makoto not with you today?" she asked in a friendly tone.

"No, they are back at the dorms," she responded happily while walking towards her. The cash register was on top of a case that showed off even more chocolate, the ones that weren't in cheap foil. The case wasn't small either; it stretched a good few inches and had a lot of verity. Behind it held a very large cabinet with an array of boxes, bags, handouts, napkins, and coupons.

"I see, are you getting the-," before she could continue her eyes noticed Jin standing near the door, "Oh, hello. I presume you are Jin?"

"Yes, how do you know me?" he asked while deciding to walk towards them.

"Well, I heard much about you from the girls," she began while eyeing Tsubaki playfully, "I heard you two are rather close, so are you two on a date?" she asked with a small giggle. From what Makoto told her, the two of them often spent a lot of time together when he wasn't busy.

"I-it's nothing like that," began Tsubaki as some red invaded her face, "We just decided to have lunch and walk around a bit." Now this was something she should have seen coming. The three of them came here often due to a certain someone, so they ended up becoming friends with the woman. As such, some people had to be blather mouths about other people's relationships.

"Hmm, sounds like a date to me. Are you sure you aren't just saying that because you're embarrassed? I heard from Makoto that you tend to deny things when it comes to your relationship with him," explained the woman in a playful tone. She happened to have a lot of information floating around her head about these two. So exploiting it for some fun was a good way to pass the time on a gloomy day.

Jin couldn't help but sigh. It seems like everywhere they went people really have an interest in them. It was like everywhere they went people jumped to the wrong conclusions, _"Why do all of these people think such things? It's like the world wants us to be a couple."_ Just the thought of it seemed oh so weird. They've known each other for such a long time that being anything else sounded so strange to him and out of place with the universe. A part of him though, that tiny little vioce that tells him to buy those plushies, couldn't help but wonder what it would be like, _"It's odd to think of us as a couple, but I had no problem thinking she would make a good wife. I question how my brain works at times." _With that he couldn't help but sigh again. It seemed that he wouldn't mind her as a wife since they already act like they are married, but bring up being a couple sounded wrong to him. It was like he had two conflicting sides, the one who wouldn't mind being with her in that fashion, and the side that found it as strange.

"Not you too, it seems like everyone is jumping to the wrong conclusions. We're just friends, he's kind of like an older brother," she explained as the tint to her face started to diminish. Of course though a bit of her protested since just awhile she did kind of admit that she loved him when she was on rage mode. Of course she decided to forget about that and pretend it was just the narrator jumping to conclusions.

"I see," she replied while looking intensely at Jin as if he was some sort of expansive piece of jewelry. She seemed to be scanning all of his features as if she was going to rank him, "Well, he's certainly cute. He gives off the mysterious cold fellow who warms up after you get to know him vibe. So you wouldn't mind if I asked him out right?" she asked with a smirk.

It took her no time at all to come to her conclusion, "No!" was what she yelled at the woman. After noting how loud that was she continued in a lower, and calmer tone, "No, I would mind. I don't want to see brother Jin with anyone. It, it just wouldn't seem right if he was with anyone." That very answer made her look to the floor, possibly out of shame. Or it could be due to a revelation that she wouldn't want to see him with anyone. After all, she would often deny romantic feelings towards him, but this very statement was rather contrary to her usual answers.

"I figured that much, I was just playing around. Besides, I'm pretty sure there is some sort of rule that says staff members can't have intimate relationships with students," with that the smirk on her face faded away, but with a tint of surprise in her voice from the outburst. She never really expected something like that to come out of her mouth, "Anyway, do you want the usual? Or something different for once?"

"I would like the usual please," responded Tsubaki while returning her gaze to the woman. Her brain though wouldn't let her to rid the file that determined her decision. That file that just popped up right in front of her basically destroyed whatever reason she came up with her excuses. What was the point of denying something when the next minute you're going to say something completely different?

"Alrighty then," responded the clerk while pulling out a bag from the large cabinet from behind, and then proceeding to open the case. She knelt down and pulled out one of the trays that had a little sign reading, "Milk Chocolate."

"Are you getting anything brother Jin?" she asked without turning her head to face him. Jin eyed the shelves with an assortment of items all over the place all the while never saying anything about her outburst. He wasn't much of a chocolate fanatic, the only times he really ate it was on his birthday, or whatever random thing Tsubaki shared with him. He then looked down at the case, and the first thing he noted was the prices where much higher than everything else. It was due to them being homemade, at least that's what the sign on the back wall besides the cabinet says anyway.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you anyway though Tsubaki," he responded but continued, "But I wouldn't mind just stealing a piece from your bag."

"Alright then," replied the red-head in a simple tone. She would have normally pressed him to get something but there was no reason to argue over chocolate. Especially at the current moment, it would be unnecessary.

"Jeez, he's the complete opposite of you! You usually request nine to ten pounds and all he wants is one piece?" asked the woman with surprise in her voice. Never once in her life did she hear that someone would eat one piece of their delicious chocolate!

"He doesn't share my love of chocolate, he barely eats it," she responded with a bit of a sigh, "It's a shame really. He doesn't know what he's missing."

"At least I don't have to worry about getting sick. I've told you over and over again to cut down on it, but you never listen to me," he responded while eyeing her a bit. No matter what she would never ever listen to him when it came to this stuff. She was too much of a fickle person. Though he isn't one to be talking since he too is rather fickle.

Tsubaki didn't reply to his statement, knowing exactly where this would go. It seems that they really do act like a married couple most of the time. Bicker and bicker over stupid things seem to be a reoccurring event lately. At least he didn't bring up anything about her outburst, for that would have resulted in major time bickering between them.

"Are you two sure nothings going on? It sounds like something else to me!" declared the chipper lady while weighing all of the chocolate on a scale. They both sent her a somewhat threatening glare that caused her to continue, "Alright, never mind." Her mind though had a completely different thought though, _"They really do deny things. It's sad really, especially when it's really obvious with Tsubaki. I wonder if this Jin guy is just extremely dense, or into someone else."_

With that the lady finished up her work, received her large amount of money, and said her goodbye to the two young people. She silently hoped that something would push them together, or she could just collaborate with the other two girls. Hmm, that sounded rather fun actually, it's been years since she's done any match making.

When they reached the outside, it seemed like the rain was going to come any second now. Thunder was becoming ever more common since they where inside the store. Jin started to look over the area; the amount of people walking around had diminished to just the two of them. His eyes traveled over to his companion who already started to go after the chocolate with a happy sparkle in her eyes.

"Already? You really do love that stuff, I doubt that there is anything that surpasses it," he commented with a tiny bit of playfulness. He really wanted to scold her for how much she bought, but refrained himself. He was hoping she shared most of it with her roommates.

She looked up to him while raising her head up to him. "Here's your piece," and with that he grabbed it after a simple "thanks," and shoved it into his mouth. It had an extremely rich taste, and even he thought it was good. That was surprising since he at times even declared the stuff as a terrible snack.

"Have you been converted now?" she asked in a playful tone, pushing away the event from before. Hopefully he would just let the whole thing slide while not thinking anything about it. If he did bring it up, she wouldn't be sure how to respond to it.

"It's good, but I'm not turning into a chocolate fanatic," he responded with a bit of coldness in his tone. She should know by know by now that nothing was going to change his opinion of the treat. He can tolerate it, and at times declare it as good, but won't obsess over it like her.

"That's a shame," she spoke as she started to walk along the unvisited path while eating some of the chocolate from the large bag happily. He ended up following behind her, wondering what will their next move be? Return or continue walking around in the going to be very rainy weather. Whatever it was going to be though, at least he was able to spend some time with her. Sure, things might have not gone as planned, but that's alright. He still managed to have some fun, which didn't really happen that much with him. Even he thought that this gloomy day wasn't all that gloomy.

"Jin," she began while still walking in front of him, but now at a surprising fast pace, "There is something that I love more than chocolate." She wasn't sure what was going on through her head, but she couldn't help but feel compelled to reply to his comment. She did deny a lot of things, but this was something she couldn't deny.

Now this caught him off guard for he wasn't expecting her to actually reply to his statement. He was originally thinking she was going to be quite due to what happened before, _"I wonder what's going through her mind right now,"_ he thought to himself. At times he really couldn't understand how her brain worked, because she would pull out random stunts like this,

"It's…," and before she could even continue speaking lighting danced across the sky, falling briskly and creating a violently loud crash to demonstrate its skill and power. Within a few seconds thunder started going off, one loud bang after another, and then tiny little droplets of rain started to fall from the darkened sky. They where few in numbers, but soon enough the cloud's tears will increases more and more. Before one would know, they could turn into a river.

"Here comes the rain," Jin mumbled as he pulled the umbrella from the strap around his wrist to his hand. He walked forward to Tsubaki who came to a halt from the startling sights and sounds. He opened the rather small umbrella and stood close to her so neither one could get wet. The rain started to come down faster, as if the clouds where holding back moments with more lighting striking. So, they just stood their, watching the weather turn under that umbrella, wondering what will happen next during there outing this afternoon. Pondering where they shall go, what type of words will be muttered, what type of events would go on, and what revelations they could come to.

* * *

**Well, that's it for this chapter! This one was originally going to be shorter with chapter three events shoved in, but of course I ended up writing a little too much. Now due to this I'm probably going to spilt chapter three like I did with this one. I planned this to only be three chapters but now it's probably going to be five. Things where going to go different but I threw that little argument scene and bam, more ideas flooding my brain! I'm a have mixed feelings ob this chapter, but I think it works. As usual I hope I handled the characters well. Now then, I'm not sure when the next chapter will come, but please stay tune! Oh yes, and please review so I can read your opinions! **


	3. Rainy Afternoon

** Now then, this was going to be finished sooner, but I ended up getting distracted by **_**Persona 4 Golden**_** and placed this on temporary hold. That, and well, holidays make me lazy, really lazy…Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

**Date Published: 12/28/13  
Word Count: 7,776  
Page Count: 12**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Rainy Afternoon**

The rain that had engulfed the land was falling fast, filled with much force and integrity. The only sound was that of rain hitting against buildings filled with people, and the single umbrella. Our duo was walking around the district without any real destination in mind, after all, what is there to do in the rain? They had before agreed to go back to the academy when it began raining, but neither had said a word. Instead of coming up with some sort of plan, they just carried onwards on this deserted path. The silence that engulfed them happened to be a bit awkward, as they walked shoulder to shoulder under the small item. It was like they had some sort of silent agreement that neither one wanted to go back and just continued onwards. If they did return, it would just lead to them departing from each other's company, something that they both didn't want to do. After all, they barely had any time together, and these minutes where precious to them.

They walked in sync down the road that they where the only ones on. All of the establishments where packed with the kids who probably had no sort of protection from the rain. It was rather odd, for the first time in such a long time, it was like they where the only two people in the world. They continued to say nothing, with the only sound coming from the places around them, and the rain that had nothing better to do then torment the people in the world. The silence between them wasn't due to the lack of subjects though, but rather from where they left off. It caused an uncomfortable silence all thanks to lightning that ruined the perfect moment for _something_ to happen.

Jin motioned his green eyes downwards to his childhood friend who held the bag of chocolate close to her chest. His mind began to run off course right there, wondering when was the last time he had the opportunity to be this close to her. The warmth that was being emitted from her body caused him to feel the rare surge of happiness inside his stomach. He was never one to accept others warmth, be it sincere or fake, he shoved it away as if it where some sort of insect. When it was hers though, he gladly accepted it whole heartily, and he couldn't help but smile just a bit due to it. After that thought his eyes looked back up to the road before him, wondering where that random idea came from. As they carried onwards, he also couldn't help but wonder just how long have they been walking? It was like whatever sense of time he had was pushed out of an eight-story building when he was with her.

Tsubaki raised her head to look up at him, pondering why his eyes looked so distant. This silence wouldn't be so prevalent if only she would have never tried to answer his question. It was a stupid idea really, acting on some sort of impulse to tell the truth to him even though she always tried to hide it. It seemed like the world though didn't want her to say a word, perhaps out of some sort of kindness. If she would have spoken the thoughts floating through her brain, who knows how he would respond. Perhaps he would have smiled gently and pat her head, or possibly even give her a hug. A fraction of being couldn't help but fantasize about him replying on how he loved her too, more than anything in the world. Just the though of that caused her to blush a bit while shoving that far-fetched idea out of her mind. After that she couldn't help but wonder if he would end up look absolutely disgusted and turn his back on her. Her brain told her he would never do such a thing, but a tiny little part of her seemed to be afraid. Afraid that things would never be the same, that everything they have would just disappear in a mere instant. Just the thought of it made her stomach turn in agony, which resulted in a sad gaze to take control of her facial features, destroying the red shade. That was the one thing she would never want to happen, he is just too important to her. Without him she would just feel lost, alone, and confused on how to act without him.

Jin happened to catch this sudden change in her demeanor out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't help but feel that something was off with her, "Tsubaki, are you alright? You seem disappointed," he asked with concern in his voice. Some may think it was odd thing, but even someone like him showed he had a heart buried under all that snow. To get to that heart though, someone needed one big shovel and a larger level of perseverance and diligence.

Her eyes raised up to look at him. The distant look in his eyes where no longer there, and was replaced by a deep-rooted concern for her well-being. She smiled at that look her had behind his glasses, "It's nothing brother Jin."

"It isn't nothing. I can tell when something is bothering you. Right now, I can tell that there is something wrong. You know that you can tell me," he responded in a surprisingly gentle voice. It was rather ironic, not that long ago he was the one acting like nothing was annoying him, and her telling him to come clean. Now it was his turn to find out what was bothering her. It's funny actually, no matter how much time goes by, the two of them act in this odd little manner. There always seem to be switching roles when it comes down to their arguments or anything else.

"I guess there's no point in hiding it. You're just going to keep asking me like how I did before," she responded with a small chuckle. She already knows how he is going to respond, but a small little sliver of fear was still there, hiding away like a thief. She knew how he was, that underneath all of the coldness was a warm spot, mostly designated for her of course. They continued to walk even though their eyes were focused on each other, "If I ever did something or said something off, would you change your opinion of me? I mean, would you never want to talk with me if I said something odd?" she asked in a hesitant tone. She knew that he would never do such a thing, and she kept on telling herself that. Even so, doubt was still there, making her worry.

"What are you talking about?" he asked while his voice began to rise, "No matter what you do, I could never hate you. You should know this by now; you're the most important person to me. Even if you did something stupid, it would never change my feelings towards you. Everyone does something stupid every once in a while, even me. The only thing that matters to me is that you're you Tsubaki, and that you act that way you want while being true to yourself," he explained with passion seeping through. He noted afterwards that he might have said a little too much, but for once he doesn't mind. It was to get to a point across to her after all, but he couldn't understand where this came from. After all, he wasn't all that true to himself, but here he is telling her to do so. All of this though was entirely out of nowhere, "What made you ask that?"

She was quite for a bit, wondering what she should say to him. It wasn't like she didn't see it coming, but the amount of emotions behind it was a bit surprising. He wasn't exactly the type to go straight out and show his emotions towards others all that often. She did expect him to seem just so compassionate about it. All of those words though made her pulse spike, as if he stole all of her oxygen just from speaking. It was at times like this she couldn't shove her feelings for him away. She gave him a bright smile while speaking, "Thank you Jin. You'll never know just how much power your words have over me." He could never understand how every time he spoke to her in that endearing, passionate, _loving_ way she could lose both her train of thought and breathe. He would never know just how much she loved hearing him speak like that, and just how much she loved it knowing he would only do so for her.

He wasn't sure how he should respond to that. It was like he was some sort of magician, and his words could entrance her. Just how he managed to do so without realizing it amazed him. It seemed as if he could easily rekindle her flame whenever it began to flicker with doubt. He could never though, for the life of him, understand just how he managed to do so. A tiny bit of him though had a theory, but quickly shoved it away as if it was a fly. After all, such a thing just didn't seem all that natural. Even so, he felt happy knowing that he had such an important role to her that his simple explanation was enough, "Though, what brought this on? You where fine till awhile ago."

She looked away from him at that moment. She felt like she just gained a new strength from him. A thing that would allow her to express her feelings to him, despite the fact she would usually act like they weren't there at all. It was getting harder and harder to deny things if he continued to act like this towards her. The way he acted, the passion in his voice, the loving look of his eyes. All of those things made it hard for her to hide it, and it didn't help that whenever they where alone like this things where different. He had no reason to act cold because no one would be looking. He had no reason to keep up his cold façade because she was the only one there. It was at that moment she began to take in her surroundings. The buildings where similar to all of the others, but they where getting smaller and smaller in number. This meant they where getting close to the rather out-of-place park.

The park was something the owner's thought would be a nice little add on to the district. The idea of young students being confined to a solemn building with no freedom would lead to problems after all. So this addition allowed students to be able to run around, act goofy and do whatever young people do. They would get there in a matter of minutes, so it would make a good location for having a conversation.

"I'll tell you when we get to the park," she replied to him while not making any sort of eye contact. The park would be completely deserted thanks to the rain (hopefully) so it would be out of other people's sight.

"When did I say we where going there?" he retorted while eyeing her in a questioning manner. They never agreed to anything pertaining to the park. All they did was agree to leave, which of course they didn't thanks to their silent agreement. That suggestion though didn't bother him surprisingly. The idea was actually good; no one else would be walking around thanks to the rain. They could talk all the while not having to deal with anyone else prying onto their conversation. He wouldn't have to worry about people coming to some sort of conclusion about them either. It would be as if they where the only two people in the whole entire world. It made him smile a bit, thinking that they wouldn't have to deal with any prying eyes.

"Is going there a problem?" she asked as a frown invaded her face. Sure, it did come out of nowhere, but it wasn't like they went along with their original plan. Going to the park was the perfect opportunity to get this feeling off of her chest. That is of course, if the weather doesn't decide to interrupt her again.

"No, I actually like that idea. There won't be any people walking around, so we don't have to worry about anyone eavesdropping," he responded while giving her a smile of reinsurance. A small voice in his head it would be a good opportunity to hold her hand again, but he told it to remain silent. Besides, he had to hold the umbrella correctly.

"Alright, that sounds good. I'll tell you when we get there," she responded happily. That slight fear was shoved out, replaced by a new-found confidence. He wouldn't get upset or hate her; she matters too much to him after all. He did tell her just be herself, so being truthful made sense. He wouldn't turn his back on her just for expressing her feelings. It was funny, she was so bent on saying she had no feelings for him, but all of a sudden she feels like expressing her feelings to him. Humans are truly strange creatures after all, one minute they are dead set on one thing but then changes their mind to something else. Perhaps it could be due to the whole mood, when surrounded by others and her friends, it seemed far too awkward to say such things. When it was just the two of them though, some strange feeling came over her, telling her to say at least something to express her feelings.

With that, the mood between them seemed to become friendlier. That awkward silence and tension filled aura dissipated away like the wind. Though, they still retained their silence, they just seemed more comfortable with each other. Ah, how things are resolved just by communicating with one another.

While they where walking the sound of a door opening caught their ears. While Jin paid attention to the road before them, Tsubaki ended up moving her head towards the sound. Two male students just exited what looked like a restaurant, with displeased looks covering their faces. One of the students was carrying an umbrella, while the other had nothing.

"Man, this sucks. Why do I have to share an umbrella with you? I told you to being your own just in case, but of course you didn't listen to me," complained the one with the umbrella while opening it. He had a light shade of brown hair brushed back neatly, and looked rather normal, but friendly. His tone was filled with annoyance, but lacked any sort of malice.

"Who said I wanted to share an umbrella with you anyway? I would have much preferred walking under an umbrella with a cute girl than you dude," responded the other one in a just as annoyed tone. This one though had a dark shade of brown that happened to spike out a bit. Unlike his friend, he looked like a delinquent who would insult anyone, skip class, and accomplish absolutely nothing.

"Well sorry I'm not some cute girl," began the first boy in a sarcastic tone, "If you would have brought your own like I said we wouldn't be having this sort of problem. And pal, I don't think any girl would want to share an umbrella with you anyway. I can grantee you that they would rather get soaking wet than stand that close to a guy like you. Your fright inducing face would send them running for the hills," continued on the first on in a playful tone of voice with a bit of a chuckle.

"That's not cool dude," began the second boy while his gaze wandered over to where the duo was walking, "I mean even if cold-hearted Jin can get a girl to share an umbrella with him, I think I could too!" With that comment Tsubaki looked up towards Jin who looked like he didn't give a crap about their conversation.

"He doesn't count, he's with his childhood friend after all. Though, I do wonder what people see in him. He's just seems like a stuck up cold jerk that thinks he's better than everyone else. I don't get why the girls swoon over him like he's some sort of heart-throb," spoke the first boy in a simple tone. Yet again Jin spoke no words, ignoring the rude comment made by the fellow. It seemed that everyone judged people by what they see, and not for who they are. It was sad to see that so many students in this school thought in such a crude manner.

"I know what ya mean bro. He's probably thinks he's some sort of king, and we're just his servants! He has such a stick up his butt it isn't funny! I mean really, he's just some cold-hearted guy who gets all the girls just due to his looks! You know how those stupid wenches are, if a guy has looks, brains, and money, they don't care how unsociable they are! Curse those wenches though, giving him all of their attention probably boosts that hidden ego of his!" spoke the thuggish looking one. He seemed far too chipper about his words and didn't seem to care that Jin heard all of it. It was like he was testing him, trying to see if he would respond to his insults. Of course Jin had just continued walking at their slow pace, pretending that he didn't say a single thing.

Tsubaki though couldn't just stand there while they badmouthed him. That was one of the things she hated the most, people who had no problem insulting her friends when they where standing there. So, she moved her left arm upwards and grabbed the area around Jin's elbow causing him to come to a halt. Jin looked down at her but before he could tell her to leave them be she turned to face them and yelled, "You two don't know anything about him, but you have no problem insulting him, huh? You two need to learn manners about how to treat people, judging people by what you see will solve nothing. And for your information, Jin isn't some stuck up jerk! He's an extremely kind person, you just have to get through his cold exterior!" her words where strong, filled with confidence. She just couldn't stand people like this, they where just so conceded.

The two boys where surprised by this sudden outburst from her. They hadn't expected either one to say a word to them, but here they are being yelled at. The second boy gained an irritated look and responded, "Hey, how about you mind your own business?! Last time I checked it's rude to butt into other people's conversation ya stinkin' wench! How about you just continue on with your little walk ya mutt!"

"How dare you! How about you learn some manners before you go insulting people you don't even know!" replied Tsubaki in an even more irritated tone. Never once in her life had someone referred to her as a wench, or a mutt. If it weren't raining she would have walked right up to him, looked him directly in the eyes, and told him that he needed to behave. That, or she might have even slapped him for his rude words.

The second boy looked like he was going to say something back, but was stopped by his companion who placed his hand on his shoulder. The second one looked over to him and yelled, "What? You started this but now you don't want to finish it? You could at least back me up here dude."

"Sorry to burst your bubble of stupidity, I was just stating my opinion. You're the one who had to go and make a big deal out of this by acting unruly. Besides, I think you should take note of the death glare Jin is giving us right now. Here's a tip man, you can insult him all you want and not get a word of him, but if you say a word about his girl you're going to see hell real soon." With that statement the unruly second guy got a good look at Jin, whose eyes where glossed over with a very cold and menacing aura. Just by looking his way he could feel his hatred seeping through even though he didn't say a single word.

"I think we should run for it," spoke the second guy before quickly grabbing his friend's umbrella and running away as fast as possible as if he was being chased by a demon. The more civilized first guy went bug eye as he saw his pal run off, looked at the duo and spoke a quick, "Sorry about this!" and ran off after his friend while yelling, "Hey, get back here you moron! That's my umbrella!"

With the strange fellows out of sight Tsubaki turned around so she was directly looking at Jin. The annoyed look on his face was dissipating, and before long he moved his gaze towards her and spoke, "Pry tell, what made you think it was a good idea to pick a fight with a thuggish guy like that?"

"I couldn't just stand there and let him insult you Jin! You defended me earlier, so I had to do the same for you. Besides, you should know that I hate guys like that. They just judge people and act like they know others when they know absolutely nothing." She gave him a small pout; she had though he would have at least thanked her.

"That sounds just like you, always trying to be some sort of defender of justice," he responded playfully, "Thank you for that, but you shouldn't be picking fights with a guy like that. He could have tried attacking you or something," he continued on with concern in his voice.

"Well, I don't have much to fear. After all, you're here with me," she began while moving her gaze away from his face, "You're like my hero, coming to save me when I get into some sort of trouble. I know you'll help me out if I get into a rough patch."

"That's true, but what would you do if I wasn't here?" he asked in a bit of a scolding tone, "I may be your hero, but I can't always be here to save you when you go and act brash."

With that she turned her gaze back to him, the sheepish look she bore just moments ago where gone, "I can handle myself if I have to. If I ever get in a tight spot, I'll just fight back."

"Just don't go and get yourself into a bad situation, alright?" he asked as he started to turn his body so they could continue walking towards their new destination. He didn't mind playing hero, but he wouldn't want her getting herself into trouble when he wasn't there to bail her out. It was one thing to argue with someone who won't strike, it's a different situation when that person seems ready to fight back.

"Alright, I'll be careful," she responded as she turned to face the road out ahead of them. And with that they started to walk to their new destination. During that whole little fiasco, she was surprised to see that no one came out to see what the racket was all about. It was a good thing that no one saw anything though, it could possibly lead to more unnecessary problems down the road. As they continued walking, something the first guy said kept on repeating itself in her mind. After a few minutes she decided to speak up, "Jin, when exactly did I become your girl?"

Now that little comment caught him off guard for a moment. He was used to people accusing things about them, but never had a person gone straight out and said such a thing. Yet again the though of her being something more than a friend seemed just so odd. It just seemed like it would break the fabric of the universe if they became something more. At the same time the thought of her being his wife didn't seem all that bad of an idea. My, just how conflicting his feelings and thoughts are right now. He could have said something different, but he felt like playing around with her a little bit, "Haven't you always been my girl?" Sure, he questioned his sanity at that moment, but that was alright. He didn't mind toying with her a little bit; he could get away with it. Any other person wouldn't be worth it, but since it was her it was alright.

She didn't respond to him, but her face certainly did. She turned her face away from him due to embarrassment, all the while telling her heart to behave itself. If either of her friends where here, they would declare that as proof enough that they had hidden feelings for one another. They continued to walk in silence before she ended up saying, "I don't belong to you Jin."

With that response he couldn't help but emit a small laugh, it was nice that he could act a bit more human than usual. He didn't always like acting like the king of cold hearts and jack frosts. After she returned her gaze to him he started to speak, "That's true, but you'll always be my girl. After all, you're the only female I'll ever let get this close to me." He didn't mean for that to come out like that, but that was alright. There aren't any prying eyes and ears, there isn't anyone to be a nuisance, and there isn't anyone to ruin everything. He could speak the truth to her without any worries and no annoying voices with the exception of the ones in his mind.

"That's…good to know Jin," responded Tsubaki while a slight smile crossed over her features. This was yet another example of why he had such a power over her. Every time he would go and say things like this made her stomach dance happily, with a reassuring feeling coursing through her. It made her feel special, that she would be the only girl he would ever look at. That she wouldn't have to get jealous if she saw him talking with some other girl for whatever odd reason. It gave her a small hope that she mattered more to him then he was letting onto, and that there could be some sort of future for the two of them. Even though she would often hide those feelings, when he acted like this, she liked being able to acknowledge their existence.

After those words were exchanged, they just continued onwards to their destination. Before long, the seemingly never-ending rows of buildings were no longer in their sight. Their eyes now where seeing a lush green area filled with shrubs, trees, and flowers. They of course weren't all that happy with all the rain causing them to dip downwards. They liked getting water for nutrients and all, but they hated when they were soaked to the root. They didn't feel like dieing thanks to all of this water either. The area was extremely large, one could easily get lost in the maze like park. The front entrance of the area had a large black gate with open doors, and above it with the NOL's name spread across in a fancy style. The whole entire park was surrounded by a large fence, and was closed off at night so no one could sneak and cause any sort of trouble or damage anything.

The duo walked inside the extensive area, and came in contact with all of the plants. Trees where all over the place of course, but they varied from each other, being from all sort of different families. The path they were walking across was made out of concrete, while the rest of the place was covered in the darkened grass. Flowers where also all over the place, ranging from reds to yellows to purples to violate and to whatever color there was hiding out in this place. The park of course was extremely colorful, but looked rather depressing thanks to the rain. Shrubs where also scattered all over, but didn't really vary in color or type. It seemed they got a little bored after a while and must've wanted to get finished planting everything.

Besides all of the plants, tables were scattered across the open space, but of course they weren't the ones with the umbrellas sticking out from the little hole in the middle. The tables where just your average picnic tables, brown and of course bland. If memory served though, there should be a gazebo around this place somewhere.  
As such the two continued to walk around the maze like park. For a while neither one of them spoke, for they were just enjoying each other's company. It was just a nice feeling, being side by side while just enjoying each other's warmth. It was such a rare occurrence these days, since the process of daily life often kept these two apart.

"Hey, brother Jin," began Tsubaki while raising her head to look at him, "I know this is going to sound weird, but doesn't this feel like a date?" She wasn't all that sure why she decided to say it. The idea was floating around her brain for a little while, but decided to say it on impulse. It seemed that she was being rather impulsive today, but it really didn't bother her. It was nice actually, being able to state what she was feeling rather than keeping it to herself and denying things. Perhaps she should find a way to spend more time with him so she could actually stated what she is feeling.

His eyes darted downwards, while a little surprised by her random comment. The idea of this outing being considered a date was just odd to him. After all, she's just a good friend to him, nothing more or less. Of course whenever he told himself he knew he just was lying to himself, because all of his words and actions are completely different. He tells himself that she's just a friend, but his words are always saying just how precious she is, how she's the only person he cares about, and how she's the only female he'll ever be close too. A normal, platonic relationship is what he claims, but another part of him was completely against that theory. He wouldn't be surprised if one of these days a shadow of himself will pop out of nowhere telling him how he isn't being truthful to himself and what not.

_"Damn, there's that idea again,"_ he thought while his eyes returned to the road stretched out before him, _"Why do I always think it's just friendship but what I do is always different? My actions and my thoughts never seem to want to agree on any common ground."_ He really wanted to sigh, raise his palm to his face all the while causing these stupid emotions. These emotions that made him just so attached to her, but also made him question in just what he saw her. He refrained himself from doing so because she was standing there, and he knew she wouldn't be thrilled about it.

Right there and then Jin decided he'd tell her it was just an outing like any other they had. There wasn't any point in making this little outing during this very rainy afternoon seem any different, "…I guess you're right," and never mind. It seemed that his being truly is divided in this stance, but it was rather obvious which side was going to win this battle. After all, the heart is usually the victor over the brain, no matter how much smarter it may be.

"Though, it doesn't feel weird at all. It's really nice, being together with you Jin," she responded in a gentle tone while looking downwards. If they were surrounded by a bunch of people, she wouldn't dare say anything like this. Though, since they were alone, she felt no fear towards expressing her feelings. It was funny, when she was around others, or even her close friends, she would deny any such feelings. When she was alone with him though, where there were no prying eyes or curios ears, she had no problem saying such things. She was such hypocrite, but so was he. They both would deny things about one another around others and even to themselves, but when they are together everything ends up being different. It was times like this the shadow of their true selves would appear and change everything they thought was the norm.

He had told himself to keep his mouth shut about his opinions on the situation, but said something else completely different. It seemed that his mind wasn't going to win this battle unfortunately, "I agree. I can't stand dealing with most of those people, but when I'm with you I feel happy." He had yet again wanted to smack himself on the back of his head. He didn't want to say it, any of it, at all. He had no problem admitting it to himself every once in a while, but he never wanted to say it aloud. The reason was rather simple, he didn't want to give her some sort of false hope. A false hope that he felt something more when he didn't (or just not wanting to admitting it). It was something too cruel to do to such a person, especially towards someone who was so important.

Tsubaki raised her head up to meet his, with a very noticeable blush going across her face. She beamed brightly at him, yet again his words where giving her a stronger confidence. He hated almost everyone but her, and he always felt happy around her. He had strong feelings for her, which he would only state when it was just the two of them. If there where any other people, good luck getting him to say anything around them which could make it sound like something else. Knowing all of this made her feel like she had to say it to him, to tell him the answer to her question. Sure, it might not mean much, but it was still something she had to say. After looking at him for a while she spoke up, "That's nice to know. I'm always really happy when I'm with you too."

The exchanges between them where usually like this, the two of them expressing their feelings in their own little odd way. They might not state it in a direct, to the point way, but it was enough. It was enough to get their feelings across to one another, so they where both reminded just how much they cared for one another. It may be only once in a while when most of the world was minding their own business that they could express their feelings. It may not be to its full extent either, but it was still enough to get them by.

After that they continued onwards, looking around for the small structure that would grant then shelter from the rain. As they continued their search, the weather had gotten worse. Violent sounds of thunder crashed all over the place while lighting struck against whatever. The wind had started to pick up along with the flow of rain, which resulted in the water splashing against them. That though wasn't the only problem; thanks to all of this rain it was getting colder. Just awhile ago it seemed like things where going to calm down, with it just raining. It seemed though the weather was just playing tricks on them, making them think it was going to pass but just ended up getting worse.

"Where is this stupid thing at?" Jin mumbled to himself as he continued to look around the place. They have been walking around for well over ten minutes and was beginning to get fed up with this rather fruitless search. He couldn't understand why they thought it was a good idea to place it in a hidden spot. It also didn't help that when the wind picked up, rain got all over his glasses.

While his eyes, which started to show his annoyance, continued to look around to the left side of the path when he felt something tug on his sleeve. He turned his eyes downwards to Tsubaki who spoke, "its other there Jin," as she pointed to the far right of their location, "Maybe you should look into a stronger prescription for your glasses."  
"My eyes aren't that bad. I just wasn't looking over in that direction," and with that declaration they turned right on the path and walked towards the place that will give them some protection. While doing so, Tsubaki couldn't help but laugh at his reply, and how she thought he was being cute.

Right before they reached the large wooden structure something happened to catch Tsubaki's eyes, which resulted in her tugging Jin's sleeve yet again. He turned his head and saw a variety of flowers that where red, light red, dark red, pink, rose-pink, and white. He examined the flowers and to his surprise he actually recognized them, for they where the only flowers he ever came to like.

"I didn't know they grew camellia's here! They're just so pretty, and they have all the different types of parentages too!" spoke Tsubaki as she stared happily at the flowers scattered about. They where of course her favorites, since that's what her name means. Out of all the flowers in the world, these where the ones she happened to study the most.

"Come on, you can look at them when it stops raining," spoke Jin while trying to get her moving. She has always liked flowers, and would have no trouble getting side tracked from whatever she was doing to look at them for as long as she wanted.

"Alright," she responded while sighing a bit. It was kind of a bad idea to just stand there in the middle of bad weather to look at flowers, but it was still rather disappointing. After that, they continued to walk towards the structure.

The gazebo was surprisingly large, and very nice looking. The whole thing was painted white with ivy covering the railings that had a criss cross design. As they walked up the steps Jin felt relieved to be somewhat away from all that accursed rain. He walked over to a corner and placed the wet umbrella against the wooden railing. At this moment his eyes traveled up to the sky just in time to see lighting cross through the darkened sky. He sighed at this, wondering just how long they will be stuck sitting around here. He didn't mind of course, being stuck with her was a blessing. Not only did it give him the chance to talk with her about whatever random subject they came up with, there weren't any other souls to interrupt. He couldn't help but wonder when was the last time it felt like they where the only two people in the world.

When he looked back over towards the steps, Tsubaki was sitting on the top step, right by the railing, eating the chocolate from the bag. He walked over to her and sat down. He began to look around the scene before them, noting the different colors of flowers, their shapes, how high the tress go, all the different sizes of shrubs, and how the rain enveloped them all. The more it rains, the darker and moodier they look compared to when it's sunny and bright.

"You know, this reminds me of when we where kids," spoke up Tsubaki while she was also looking around at the scenery before them. As kids, they spent a lot of time inside the garden behind her home. Back then they just played different types of games and chatted away at what ever seemed interesting to children. Other times though they did go out and about the town doing random things. It was always the two of them since their parents where busy discussing whatever adult things they weren't meant to know about, and at times it seemed like they where the only people in the whole world.

"Yeah, but it isn't nearly as nice though," he responded while moving his head over to her. Back then the only people who had no ill will towards him was his adoptive parents. Every one of his adoptive siblings would just stare at him will malice hidden away in their eyes. They hated him for stealing away the title of the next head, and they hated him for everything he was good at. Even back then people just judged him for what they saw, and never for who he was. After he met her though, he was finally able to make a true friend. A friend who would stay by his side for who he is rather than what he appears to be. A friend who didn't judge him for what she saw, but saw him for who he is. Even though people want to get close to him he knows it is due to whatever image they have of him inside their minds. They don't care who he is due to their blindness to who he is. Perhaps they would be like Gloucester from _King Lear, _only seeing the truth after they lost their ability to see.

"True, but it's still nice," she responded happily while moving her head so they made eye contact, "How long do you think it's going to rain? It seems to be getting worse," and as soon as she said that a loud boom echoed throughout the land. This surprise caused her to jump a bit, "I take it that the weather doesn't like me today."

"It could just be a coincidence you know," he started with a small chuckle, "I think it'll pass in a little while. Do you want to go back to the academy so soon? I take it that you wish to abandon me," he asked in a bit of a playful, teasing tone. It wasn't often he could act like this, but he enjoyed it when he could do so. It was another rare thing he could only indulge in when she was in his company.

"Of course not! I enjoy being with you Jin," began his dear companion in a strong voice, "I was just wondering, that's all. I don't want to leave you so soon," she responded in the way he figured. She knew she was walking into a trap, but it didn't faze her. It was just another way to show how much she cared for him. It was at that moment she closed the bag filled with chocolate and placed it behind her.

"I figured that Tsubaki, but you know it's fun seeing you get worked up," he replied with a small smile. In this whole world there wasn't anyone else he could act like this except for her. It was just a part of his trust issues, there wasn't anyone else he felt he could get close to, "Now what were you going say earlier? It has something to do with the thing you love more than chocolate, right?" Now this conversation is going to be interesting. He was just playing around before, and wasn't expecting her to give him any sort of answer, but she actually had one. He wasn't sure what it would be though; if he had to guess it would be those camellias.

With those words she moved her face from looking at him to the flooring and steps. She had gained a new confidence, but a part of her was still a bit hesitant about saying it. It was actually silly; it wasn't like she was proclaiming any sort of romantic love to him. It wasn't anything too serious like that. She just wants to admit something for once instead of always denying everything that she felt. After all, he was the one who made her feel like this, so she just had to get it out in the open and let him know. The rainy day's events gave her confidence that she could express something to him, "You won't get made at me or anything, right? I mean, you won't think I'm being strange or anything?"

"You don't have to worry," he spoke as he reached out his right hand so he could grab her left hand squeeze it a bit, "As long as you don't tell me you love parfaits more than chocolate," he chuckled a bit at that. That could also be another possibility, but it would be too clichéd if that was the answer.

"Alright then," she replied with a small smile. She returned the squeeze he gave her as she mentally prepared herself. It wasn't anything too big of a deal she told herself over and over again. She looked him in the eye, her determination filled eyes meeting his curious ones, "The thing I love the more than chocolate is," she started as a red shade invaded her face. The determination she had began to fade away while being over taken with embarrassment. She began to feel nervous from the rest of the sentence in her mind. She kept on telling herself it wasn't a big deal, that is was something she had to say. Something she had to get off her chest so she could proudly say she wasn't denying her feelings for once. Despite all of that, she couldn't help but glance downwards wondering if the weather would come in and save the day for her again. Of course it didn't for Jin noted her discomfort and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. With that she took in some extra oxygen, returned her gaze to him and thanks to that simple kind gesture she was able to say with confidence, "The person I love more than chocolate is you Jin."

* * *

**Woo, I finished another chapter! And it was fluffy~ I had some trouble with the beginning of this chapter, but after some time I was able to get into the grove of things! Thank you Pachelbel and Chopin for your wonderful music! Oh, and I just had to throw those **_**Persona **_**references in. Anyhow, I don't know when the next chapter will come since I think I haven't written anything. Though, it would be nice if I knew where I placed my fan fiction notebook at. Oh well, I'll find it somewhere. Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and as usual, please review so I can read your opinions! **


End file.
